ABC urged to stop screening of CH 4 film

by Shanika SRIYANANDA

Sri Lanka’s High Commission in Australia, which protested the screening of Channel 4 video “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” on ABC’s Four Corners Program, has written to the Executive Producer Sue Spencer requesting to avoid telecasting the documentary, as it is completely biased and contains unsubstantiated allegations against the Government of Sri Lanka.

Acting High Commissioner Shashikala Premawardena, who also had a telephone conversation with Spencer, had urged the ABC not to give any coverage to the video as the views expressed in the documentary were without any guarantee of authenticity. The program is tentatively scheduled for telecast on ABC1 tomorrow.

In her letter to Spencer, she has described the LTTE’s brutality in executing civilians, policemen, leaders of the country, religious dignataries and also all those who went against the LTTE.

“There is a possibility that this footage is from LTTE executions that have been released to discredit the Sri Lankan government.

The military uniforms of the individuals do not clearly establish that they are Sri Lankan Army personnel.

The shots in the video clip could well be a treatment meted out by the LTTE in Army uniform.

The obvious bias of the program is further illustrated by the fact that a major portion of the video footage has been acquired from the LTTE and its sources”, she said.

She also stated that the portrayal of the ground situation in the program is as if the LTTE never existed in the areas that were being filmed and the Government forces were deliberately targeting innocent civilians. “This is a clear distortion of facts and the ground reality that existed at that time. Another aspect which did not get captured in the Channel 4 program was that the LTTE was a formidable fighting force that had developed a conventional military capability”, Premawardena said.

She has also recalled that the steps taken by the government to send food, medicine and other facilities while fighting with the LTTE were not shown in the video. “None of these facts are presented in the program which is a deliberate attempt to distort the true situation”, Premawardena said adding that the nature of presenting the facts in the video is clearly demonstrates the liberties taken by the program producers in twisting the truth to fit in with the agenda of the program.

Premawardena has explained that there were countless evidence in the video which clearly demonstrates its bias.